County Council’s new headquarters on track to complete early next year
Nottinghamshire County Council's new headquarters has been under construction since January.
By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
Nottinghamshire County Council’s new £18m building is on track for completion early next year despite a winter weather setback.
Located in Top Wighay, near Hucknall and Linby, construction of the council’s new offices started in January, though wet weather earlier this year slowed the project’s progress.
By moving out of the historic County Hall on the banks of the River Trent in West Bridgford, the County Council hopes to save around £1.5m in running costs each year.
The current headquarters also has a £30m expected maintenance cost over the next 12 years, and a further £28m would be needed to bring it up to modern environmental standards.
Councillor Keith Girling (Con), the cabinet member for economic development and asset management, said the project had caught up to schedule after previous weather problems.
Speaking on the newly completed roof today (July 30), he said: “It’s another phase that we’re in, in terms of completion of the building.
“At the moment everything’s on time, despite the bad weather at the beginning of the year- they’ve caught up which is brilliant… we’re also on budget which is another good thing that we’re monitoring very closely.”
The cladding and brickwork for the structure, called Oak House, will be started soon with the plumbing and electrical works also due to begin.
Any potential future adverse weather should not slow progress again, managers say.
Liam Moylan, Project Manager, said: “By the time that the [bad] weather rolls round, we should be all boarded in, we should be working inside of the building at that point.
“I’m making sure the ground workers do as much of the external infrastructure as we can while we’ve got some nice weather.”
The new location is situated more in the centre of Nottinghamshire county, and will mean a move of around ten miles for the authority.
Cllr Girling said: “County Hall is down the south and for people in the north of the county it’s some distant place that they don’t really connect with.
“This building was going to be here anyway, with social services in here because this is the sort of area where those services are needed.
“We’ve brought the council [here], all the decision making will be done from this place… we’re now right in the heart of Nottinghamshire and where we should be.”
The council’s new home includes several more environmentally efficient features, including a roof full of solar panels.
The Conservative-run council decided to move away from County Hall in 2023.
A final decision has not yet been made on the future of the older building, although it is expected to be sold by the authority.
Keeping County Hall’s green roof and improving its riverside location were among priorities put forward by people who responded to a recent survey about the landmark building’s future.
A business case on its future is due to be published in the autumn.
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